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http://www.automobilemag.com/news/whale-tale-asphalt-jungle/#respondWed, 07 Dec 2016 13:00:57 +0000http://www.automobilemag.com/?p=1028402I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on a Porsche 911 Turbo. I was 17 years old, and friends were driving me along a leafy country two-lane road in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to the tennis club where I worked that summer as a groundskeeper. Suddenly, my pal at the wheel caught sight of...

]]>I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on a Porsche 911 Turbo. I was 17 years old, and friends were driving me along a leafy country two-lane road in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to the tennis club where I worked that summer as a groundskeeper. Suddenly, my pal at the wheel caught sight of something in his rear-view mirror. “Whoa! Behind us! Look at that Porsche!” The two of us riding shotgun spun around as if Farrah Fawcett herself had just parachuted through the rear skylight of our lumbering Olds Vista Cruiser station wagon. After all, sports cars weren’t exactly everyday sightings in a Midwest university town whose preferred mode of transport in the 1970s was a Volvo from the Mesozoic Era or a threadbare VW microbus spray-painted with smiley faces and held together with “Makin’ Bacon” bumper stickers. Yet there it was: a sports car straight from Valhalla, that unmistakable 911 shape accelerating into our exhaust fumes, a blonde riding alongside the sunglassed male driver. The image was as perfect as I’d dreamed it could be—and in an instant it got better. I spotted a menacing fluke peeking out from the back of the car and nearly swooned. “Guys!” I yelled, my voice cracking in a flood of teenage hormones. “That 911 … it’s … a Turbo!”

I’ve never since wondered how Christopher Columbus felt when he discovered the New World. I know.

I reached out the window of the Olds, flashed the Turbo driver a crazed thumbs-up. He nodded politely, lifted a thumbs-up in return, then — perfection — he downshifted, flattened the throttle, and blazed past us, the 260-horsepower flat-six screaming with air-cooled revs, the massive rear whale tail briefly in full view before the car disappeared in a flurry of whirling leaves and platinum curls. For a few moments, the cabin of the Olds was silent, almost reverential. Then a friend spoke up for the three of us: “Damn. That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Incredibly, when we arrived at the tennis club 10 minutes later, the Turbo — an original 3.0-liter 930 — was there, parked in the shade of a tree, its engine clicking and popping with heat. Completely forgetting to punch in for the day, I joined my friends for a few moments genuflecting at the altar of speed. Somehow, the Porsche seemed to radiate an invisible force field. We were afraid to get too close, lest the beast suddenly come alive and squash us with that leviathan rear fin. Still, through the windshield I could see not one but two radar detectors mounted on the dash: an original, boxy FuzzBuster 2000 and, alongside it, the sleeker, sexier Super Snooper. “Wow,” I thought to myself. “Today started out normal, and suddenly I’m in the presence of freaking James Bond!” If my boss hadn’t materialized right then — “Arthur, courts five and six need an air rake!” — I might still be standing there today, transfixed, unmoving, besotted with car lust.

Has it really been 40-some years since that giddy summer morning? Memories of that original 930 Turbo came flooding back to me recently as I climbed behind the wheel of a brand-new 911 Turbo — $167,225 worth of jet black, mechanized magnificence straight from Zuffenhausen. Yes, disco was king when I saw that first car, but the 2017 model is still instantly recognizable for what it is — right down to the iconic wing on its tail (though way stubbier now). And despite having driven countless 911s in the past three-plus decades — among them numerous Turbos — the mere sight of the car still brings out the wide-eyed 17-year-old in me.

The original 930 Turbo had a nasty reputation for light-switch turbo response — and a predilection for eating guardrails with its taillights at the slightest misuse of the throttle. Not so the current Turbo. Gawd this car is good. It’s hard to believe 540 horsepower can be so polished, so polite. The first time I crushed the right pedal on an empty country road was just silly; Porsche claims a 0-to-60-mph time of just 2.9 seconds — it’s every bit that fast. But thanks to the standard all-wheel-drive system and NASA-grade electronics, the Turbo sucked in the horizon without so much as a squiggle from the chassis. Cornering was the same: My head began to unscrew from my neck and still the chassis was digging in, asking for more, refusing to let go at either end. On my favorite mountain road, the Turbo actually made me say “uncle.”

That’s some kind of magic, Porsche. Forty-plus years after that first 911 Turbo and still I can’t breathe.

Grand Prix White over Cashmere Beige leather interior. 3.6L, SOHC flat-6, 385 hp, five-speed manual transmission. Offered with its original window sticker still affixed as well as all of its books, tools, spares, and Certificate of Authenticity. Fewer than 40 miles on the odometer. One of 39 U.S.-spec examples, one of two finished in Grand Prix White. A time capsule Porsche, virtually “as new” in every aspect.

The Story Behind the Sale

When talking about rare ‘90s-era Porsches, the RS and Speedster models often dominate the conversation, with those cars gaining in both popularity and price of late. Far fewer people are aware that the Flachbau even exists. Two versions of the uber-rare 964-series 911 Turbo S were built by Porsche Exclusive between 1992 and 1994 – the Leichtbau and the Flachbau. The first was a so-called “lightweight” version using standard-looking bodywork and a modified 3.3-liter Turbo engine but boasting fairly major weight reduction of some 400 lbs. These models had aluminum doors, thinner glass and carpets, a carbon fiber luggage compartment, and deletion of rear seats, air conditioning, power steering, sound deadening and underbody protection.

The Flachbau — “flatnose” — Turbo S wasn’t as focused on reduced weight as it was on looking different. The nose was the most obvious change. While Japanese-spec cars, internally designated X83, featured the familiar “slantnose” bodywork as the previous Porsche 930S, Rest-of-World (ROW, which includes Europe and parts of Asia) and North American versions (designated X84 and X85, respectively) got unique 928/968-style pop-up headlamps. These Flachbau cars also used the later 3.6-liter Turbo X88 code engine with unique camshafts and cylinder heads, special tuning of the valve train, fuel injection, and ignition systems, and increased boost pressure from a larger turbocharger. A total of roughly 385 horsepower was the end result. Just 10 cars were built for Japan, 27 for ROW and 39 for North America.

Time capsule” cars like this one appear a few times per year. Often they are Fords or Chevys, less often an interesting car or an exotic. Sometimes put away when new by the original owner, occasionally a dealer leftover, or a car that has an interesting back story such as a death, divorce or business dissolution. This car was acquired new by the Blackhawk Collection of Danville, California in 1994 and then sold sometime later to the vendor who brought it to this auction. Less than forty miles on a car isn’t necessarily a good thing mechanically, so the vendor had a marque specialist perform a service that included fluid changes, a new battery, drive belt, fuel pumps and hood shocks. To complete the package, the sale of the car also includes the factory owner’s folio and additional spare parts still wrapped in plastic from the factory.

Pre-sale estimate on this was $1,400,000-$1,800,000, but it’s doubtful that anyone was disappointed at the final selling price of $1,100,000. Also doubtful is the fact that there is another one of these hidden out there somewhere with similarly low miles. Jerry Seinfeld’s car sold at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island sale earlier this year for $1,017,500, but that car had over 12,000 miles on it. That’s certainly not high mileage, but it’s not delivery miles, either. This Flachbau truly is one of a kind and although it might not be the centerpiece of a Porsche collection, it certainly is an attention demanding automobile. The only question left is whether the new owner can resist the temptation of actually driving it.

In the 1980s, one of the most exotic cars on the market was the Aston Martin Lagonda. With wedge-era sheetmetal, a luxurious, space-age interior, and a cost higher than most contemporary Italian exotics, many Lagondas were used then as high-speed limousines for predominantly Middle Eastern buyers. Lagondas had often been derided as impossible to keep running or to fix, and values had suffered. With each passing day the Lagonda’s value seems to be creeping up, as more owners are willing to invest the money to maintain their cars and keep them on the road for years to come.

1970 Mercedes-Benz 280SL

Sold at $170,500

S/N 11304412015336
Tunis Beige with black hardtop over cognac leather interior. 2.8L, 170-hp, SOHC I-6. Four-speed automatic transmission. Presented in excellent condition throughout, this is a concours-quality car that has seen little use since its excellent restoration. Included in the sale is a new softtop.

Originally delivered to Beverly Hills, in the 1980s it changed hands and moved to the Denver area, where it has remained since. At restoration, a number of European-market features were added to the car, most distinctively the one-piece headlights replacing the high- beam/low-beam setup familiar to North America. This is huge money, even for a top-quality “Pagoda” SL such as this one. That said, it’s not something we won’t see more of in the future, as the reputation and stature of these cars continue to grow based on their handsome good looks, fair-mannered driving experience, and everyday usability.

Best Buy: 1955 Jaguar D-type

Sold at $21,780,000

S/N XKD 501
Scottish Blue with white trim over black leather interior. 3.4L, 250-hp, DOHC I-6. Four-speed manual transmission. Overall winner of the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans, former Ecurie Ecosse team car. Very good to excellent paint, all trim is very good or better. Importantly, the car is not overdone with non-standard equipment or too much polish.

With vintage race cars, much of the value lies in its history, and you could argue that no D-type Jag has a better known or more complete history than this example. Since its Ecurie Ecosse days, it has only had two other owners and has been in a private collection for the past 16 years. Originality is the other thing collectors look for, and this car has retained most of its original bits since its race days. When all the stars align, auction magic can happen. This became the most expensive British car ever sold at auction. Best Buy? Yup. Check back in 20 years.

1974 De Tomaso Pantera GTS

Sold at $101,750

S/N THGTPS07226
Deep maroon over black vinyl interior. 351 cu-in, 266-hp, OHV V-8. Five-speed manual transmission. The refinished paint is in very good shape. Black trim is in very good condition. Mostly original interior also in very good condition. Believed to have fewer than 30,000 miles since new. Well preserved.

If the history of the De Tomaso Pantera seems implausible, that’s because it was: The car was built in Italy by an Argentinian, designed in Italy by an American, and sold by Lincoln-Mercury dealers in the U.S. By 1974 and the introduction of the GTS, sales had slowed though hundreds of cars continued to be produced into the ’90s. Forty years later, the Tom Tjaarda-penned Pantera is truly having its day. With a Ford 351 Cleveland V-8, Panteras are responsive, fast, and evocative of an era when building all-new cars was much easier.

1968 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2

Sold at $390,500

S/N 01294
Amaranto red over Senape tan pigskin interior. 3.9L, 320-hp, DOHC V-12. Five-speed manual transmission. Unrestored, all original, currently not running. California black plates and just two known owners, the second since 1976.

There are barn finds and there are survivors. Unfortunately, the two often get mixed up. This car is much more of a survivor. The first owner took delivery in Southern California and, in 1976, sold the car to a new home in the same locale. By 1978, the car was placed in long-term storage in non-drivable condition. The big decision for the new owner is whether to simply get it running and do some light refreshing or go all the way and perform a full restoration. My vote would be to keep the car original, proudly showing almost 80,000 miles, but my vote doesn’t count.

1953 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Berlinetta

Sold at $132,000

S/N 1290S
Red and black over black leather interior. 0.7L, 71-hp, DOHC I-4. Four-speed manual transmission. Well presented but not a show car, with signs of actual use through the years.

Post WWII, there were dozens of manufacturers building cars in Italy. A few of them became big (think Ferrari and Maserati), while others remained obscure. With only a few exceptions, all of them are sought-after collectibles. This Moretti could be used as a track-day screamer or might be displayed on the lawn at a car show. In any case, it’s great value for the money for those looking for a car that is eligible for some of the best vintage events. Alternately, think of it as a three-quarter-scale ’50s Ferrari; strip the badges and many wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. A very cool car that appears to be well sold.

1967 Iso Grifo GL

Sold at $368,500

S/N GL730147
Argento Indianapolis silver over black leather interior. 327 cu-in, 350-hp, OHV, V-8. Five-speed manual transmission. Borrani wire wheels. Said to have a known and traceable ownership history since new. Coachwork by Bertone. Overall, pleasant enough, best described as an excellent driver but not a fresh-as-new showpiece.
There was a time when the word “hybrid” meant a European car with American power, which is exactly what this Italian-built, small-block-Chevy-engined grand-touring machine is. Iso built everything from tiny bubble cars to supercars, and you could argue the facts all day, but the Grifo was, to most, the best looking and best performing of the bunch. The passing of time has proven the Bertone-designed Grifo to possess a classically handsome yet forward-looking design that attracts eyeballs everywhere it goes. The price paid is reflective of the price of entry for this rare model.

1972 Nissan Skyline GT-R “Hakosuka”

Sold at $187,000

S/N KPGC10-001443
Gold over black vinyl interior. 2.0L, 160-hp, DOHC I-6. Five-speed manual transmission. Paint and brightwork in very good condition. The mostly original interior shows some light wear but is in very good condition. Restored in Costa Rica after being purchased in Yokohama, Japan.

This car traveled a long way to get to Monterey. Skyline GT-Rs are increasingly sought after, especially by a few of the now-wealthy members of the generation that grew up “driving” them in video games. Hakosuka translated from Japanese is “boxy skyline,” and this is one boxy Skyline that drew lots of attention as well as bidder interest. There’s quite a long list of fast (and furious?) Japan-sourced Skylines you could buy for the $187,000 spent here, but the buyer got a car he or she is likely never to see a duplicate of. Let’s hope the adage “you can’t pay too much, you can only buy too soon” applies here.

]]>A fully electric Porsche may be nearly as popular as the sporty 911 in the near future.

Oliver Blume, Porsche CEO, tells Automobilwochehe expects a big demand for the all-electric Mission E, which was first unveiled in Frankfurt in 2015. How big? Well, how about 20,000?

“We have the Mission E calculated with a number of items in the order of about 20,000,” Blume tells the German publication.

Porsche sold 31,350 911s world wide last year (8,360 in the U.S.), so 20,000 Mission Es is a pretty lofty goal.

The fully electric, 600-horsepower sports sedan concept has been touted as reaching 0-62 mph in less than 3.5 seconds. Plus, the futuristic four-seater has a driving range of more than 300 miles on a 15-minute charge of its lithium-ion battery pack.

The Mission E will not be only electric Porsche available for EV fanatics. The magazine also reports that Michael Steiner, Porsche’s head of development, is currently toying with the idea of a 718 Boxster getting a plug-in option.

It’s all very plausible. Porsche’s Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, already in production, made its global debut at this year’s Paris auto show. The new E-Hybrid has a combined 462 hp via a 2.6-liter V-6 engine and a 100-kW electric motor — a decent amount of power for a hybrid.

A fully electric or hybrid Boxster sounds like a logical and fantastic idea, but purists should not worry about losing the gas-powered Porsches anytime soon. Blume still expects that the three drive variants will exist together for quite a long time. (Whew.)

Porsche’s Mission E is expected to be hitting the global market as early as 2019. We can’t wait to drag race it alongside a few Teslas and other EVs when it makes its official debut.

]]>We recently sat down with Detlev von Platen, former president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, now global sales chief and member of the executive board of Porsche AG in Stuttgart, to discuss Porsche’s current marketing strategies in America and abroad.

AM: How does the brand Porsche resonate around the world?

DVP: Porsche is one of very few brands that has global impact in a very consistent way. It is a very authentic, exclusive brand, staying very true and very loyal to its values. We always keep our tradition very strong in everything we do — making sure when we develop a new car, when we go in a new direction, we have a link to our origins. Yes, we are a performance sports car company, but we try also to be different in the way we develop and produce performance cars that you can use everyday…I think we deliver an experience.

We compensate by creating a very authentic, analog experience. This brand’s personality and this brand’s values I think are very well known and consistent around the world. If you go to China, which was a market without any Porsches just fifteen years ago, and you ask a customer or an owner of Porsche, he [or she] would exactly understand and describe this brand.

AM: Describe your market in China.

DVP: The awareness of Porsche was strong well before we started to sell cars in China. We have younger people in China than Europe or the United States. We have less tradition in terms of sports cars, so the Cayenne or Panamera has a bigger mix. But we still have our roots, this center of gravity very strongly set in the brand. The United States is the market for us where the sports car tradition is the strongest.

I think what we realized…we have had a lot of new customers who’d never considered starting with the 911. They started with the Cayenne, and then, suddenly this car speaks to them and the brand talks to them, and [they] would like to try the 911. So, good synergies between all. I believe if you go to China you will see more Cayenne in terms of shares of sales, but I think the brand is really consistent in terms of values everywhere.

DVP: It is not offensive. It is a clear strategy. I mean, take the 911. You put a child in front of the 911 [sold in 1963…the first one] then put him today in front of this 911, and he recognizes it immediately. It’s very important that we keep the center of gravity. The 911 is…the center of gravity. It shows the DNA our engineers use. We are keeping the design, which is easy to understand, pure, with very clear lines, and consistent through the model lines. Seeing the Cayenne and seeing the Macan, you would understand very quickly these cars come from a brand that has this history around 356 and beginning of the 911. Because all the lines you find, the topography of the design if I may call it, with the shoulders and the lines of the hood and everything — it is something you’ll find throughout our models, always.

AM: So then how do you adapt nuance from market to market, from product to product? Are you changing the tone of Porsche’s message or what?

DVP: It’s about tonality, it’s about the message you are bringing out, it’s about the people acting within the brand, and it’s bringing the essence of Porsche. We are not just talking about product; we are talking about the history. We are talking development processes; we are consistent in different product strategies.

When we hire a new employee or a partner or dealer, this is something you learn. When you work with Porsche, you learn about humility, you learn about being competitive, you learn about being proud of what you do without being arrogant…this is what we call the culture of product, the culture of development.

This is maybe something that also makes Porsche unique. If you worked for Porsche, you may understand this; we are centered in a very family-oriented company where the founders are still very present. There are some very strong sentiments that resonate everyday when you work with Porsche. I have been working twenty years for Porsche, and now one year in the center of Porsche in Germany. This is something you really feel when you look and work with the engineers.

AM: Seeing how engineering is at the center of Porsche’s world, that must be one of the biggest parts of your brand message, no?

DVP: You would be surprised by not only how many Americans but also how many Chinese come to visit our factories to understand what is behind [our cars]. How does the engineering work at Porsche? You need to be simple. The world is changing very quickly and people are more and more looking for [consistency]. Not something that [the world] is changing too quickly, and of course [people] want innovation, and to say [Porsche isn’t talking about] innovation would be absolutely wrong. I get the question very often, “Alright, Porsche, you are a sports car manufacturer, so what do you think automated driving — not for you, right?” No, of course we are looking at these different technologies. Future connected car technology is very important, automated driving is important, electrification — who would have thought we would consider putting an electric motor in a Porsche? If you keep this visible and clear and simple in the way you explain our products, you will see very strong development, consistent development.

AM: Tell us a bit about how Porsche plans to market EVs.

DVP: We are in the middle of development of this new Mission E. I have to be absolutely honest, I never imagined having a front-drive electric car. We are not developing an electric car and putting a Porsche badge on it. We are developing a Porsche with completely new technology. Will there be only this in the future? I don’t think so, but it will be one of our directions. I think the combustion engine has a future — sound is important, vibration is important for us. But I think this internal competition of different technologies will be very exciting for us, and I’m looking forward to it.

AM: Will you always be pushing a halo sports car?

DVP: You have the sense the last car [Porsche builds] will be a sports car. You might think in twenty years you won’t see a car with a steering wheel. You will see all kinds of robots driving around without actual engines — yeah, might be. But the last car [Porsche] will have will have a steering wheel…with all technologies, but a steering wheel. Nobody needs a 911. We still hope that everybody wants one.

]]>Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser is vice president of motorsport at Porsche AG and one of the driving forces behind the astonishing 918 Spyder. We sat down with Walliser to talk about his beloved hypercar, the state of Porsche motorsports, and how he thinks Porsche’s fastest cars will look in the not-so-distant future.

AM: What’s it like, looking back at the 918 Spyder project, seeing how people reacted to the hypercar and its competitors?

FSW: For sure with time and distance everything looks easier, like always. The past, everything looks better, but definitely I will not forget how difficult it was to make the car, to set up the team, to solve all the technical things we had to in a very, very short time with very limited resources. This was definitely the challenge, but it is the ultimate hypercar. I think also compared to our competitors it is the most extreme, the most useful, the most advanced hypercar of this astonishing period. We had been the first, and the others changed their concepts to our concepts. That’s the truth. The Ferrari did not look the same before Geneva 2010. I think we gave the direction and the others followed, and nobody had us on the list to have the fastest car. [We] had the best car with the best fuel consumption, which for sure makes you proud and makes the company proud. It wasn’t only a huge project but was also good spirit in the company to go through that storm. The development of the car was really a storm — a hurricane.

FSW: 10 years after the 918, if AMG’s doing a supercar, I’m relaxed. They are all talking about hybrids…fine. I am a little bit too much an engineer; if I see a fancy hypercar with super aerodynamics, 23-inch wheels, a 6,000-horsepower engine with six turbos, whatever…hot air. The Porsche way is if you do a show car, it’s proof that it can work. If we show a show car, normally we make a decision to make the street car.

AM: It’s clear motorsports holds a lot of engineering sway at Porsche. How involved in product development is Porsche’s motorsports branch?

FSW: For sure, I’m in the committees that decide the product decisions. There’s a lot of exchange. It’s not that we do the work or the others do our work, but there’s a lot of exchange. There’s an ongoing discussion all the time. Talking with the colleagues and traveling together and test driving together. It’s always a discussion. “How would you do this?” “Do you think your brakes are okay?” “Don’t you think it’s overdone on the brakes?” I prefer it more like this. I think this just shows the interest of people. If I talk to the guy who’s responsible for the Macan, it’s the same enthusiasm as if he’s running a GT3 as the guy who’s responsible for the Panamera and vice versa. If the 911 development is something a little bit more sporty, for sure we look at what [product development is] doing and say, “Hey, that’s very close to our car.” We have to stretch a little bit and bring it more to the limit and make it even better.

AM: Will motorsports always be an essential piece of Porsche’s business plan?

FSW: We had periods when it was not so important, when the company really had to focus on other products to grow, like the Cayenne. When we said, “OK, this is now for the company more important than motorsports,” but we never stopped, never had the situation where no motorsports were done. Maybe a project was not continued, but not “no motorsports.” And over the last 5 years I think we’ve tremendously grown with the LP1 program and all of our customer racing activities, offering more cars, selling more cars than ever, having a variety of 4 GT cars available now, is really, really cool. For sure there’s an ongoing discussion within the group board members to say what motorsports [we do], which brand is doing what. I think Porsche has a very good standing there. I would say our financial figures are OK…more than OK. If you have to decide which brand is racing, nobody would ever say Porsche is not racing, because who else? With this heritage, with this product portfolio, with this strong link to racing, it’s never doubted.

FSW: We’re not saying a cup race is always based on a combustion engine. It could also be done with an electric motor. Why not? It’s just being open, taking everything that is going on in the company, and having a detailed look at the technology. They’re using new cells for the battery. That’s always interesting. Maybe we can use it in a race car. Definitely the electric drivetrain is an extremely interesting part. It opens you to the possibility of not only doing a full electric car but also a hybrid car, because it’s the same electric motor. Why not?

AM: Do people constantly ask you when you’ll do another 918 Spyder?

FSW: When the 918 project ended, people asked me what is the next car? What will change? I was like, “Nothing, because everything is right with the car”, and maybe it was a bit of a strong statement, but there was no technology on the horizon to say, “OK, we can improve the car tremendously.” We can make everything a little bit better, for sure, but not for a big step. At the moment, as long as we don’t have a technology that makes a big step, there is no need to make a car that is only a little bit better. It must be mind-blowing again.

AM: So that step isn’t yet here?

FSW: No. I can’t see it, but I know electric development and development of batteries and electric motors will bring it, but it’s too early at the moment. Only three years have gone [since the 918 Spyder]. Give us another 5-6 years and then we’ll see. We launched the Carrera GT in 2003, and then 4 years later there was a small team sitting together saying, “OK how will the next Carerra GT look like?” It was a downsizing concept, less fuel consumption, but there was no technology really on the cutting edge. Everything was really, really good, but at the end of the day we said, “Yeah, but it’s not this breakthrough technology.” Just 3 years later [the technological landscape] looked completely different with the introduction of the hybrid. We see some developments and some things are coming, but it’s too early to say what.

“There is absolutely no intention to go below what we have today,” von Platen said at the Porsche Experience Center opening in Carson, California, recently. “We have nothing to gain by creating a cheaper Porsche in the future. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality in what we do,” he told the news site.

Von Platen also confirmed that Porsche was developing another EV sport sedan, and they will focus on developing new services for its future product strategy. Think more parking apps and other tech gadgets.

]]>Porsche is getting its money’s worth from the L.A. auto show, using yesterday’s off-site reception to show off its new Los Angeles Porsche Experience Center – a central hub where the brand will host driving schools, private functions and other events. Today, the reveals continued at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where Porsche showed off its new Panamera Executive range and the hotly anticipated mid-engined 911 RSR race car.

The Panamera Executive features a wheelbase stretched 5.9 inches and is intended for chauffeuring purposes according to Porsche itself. The Panamera Executive is available in 4, 4 E-Hybrid, 4S and Turbo trims, with 330-, 462-, 440-, and 550-hp, respectively. The E-Hybrid version is said to reach 60 mph from a standstill in 4.5 seconds and has an electric-only range of 31 miles. Standard Executive features include a panoramic roof, heated comfort seats front and rear, adaptive air suspension, and a roll-up sunblind. Panamera 4S Executive and Turbo Executive versions also get standard rear-wheel steering, similar to the system in the 911 GT3, and soft close doors. The Turbo variant alone also includes standard LED dynamic lighting and four-zone climate control.

Optionally, the Panamera Executive gets a redesigned rear seating package with a large center console that can house fold-out tables for passengers to work while they ride. Sport design flourishes, as available on the standard Panamera, are also an available option.

Porsche also announced it will add an engine to the standard Panamera range: a 330-hp turbocharged V-6, which makes 20 more horsepower than it did in the previous generation car. The turbo V-6 engine will be available with either rear- or all-wheel drive.

The most exciting news from the L.A. show for those who enjoy doing their own driving was the all-new 911 RSR. This race car has been hotly anticipated, primarily due to rumors that engineers have moved the traditionally rear-mounted engine ahead of the rear axle. The rumors were true and Porsche has gotten special exemptions for what is a fairly major deviation from the road-going 911. Output from the brand-new direct-injected, rigid-valve-drive, flat-six is 510 hp and the transmission is a new six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifters. Currently, Porsche has no plans to change the engine position of its road-going 911, as a mid-engined layout would compromise rear seating.

The rest of the 911 RSR was also dramatically revised with fresh carbon fiber bodywork, a top-mounted rear wing inspired by the 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car, and scratch-built suspension. Most body panels are easily replaced through a new quick-release fastener system and the suspension is also more easily serviced on the fly.

Porsche’s 911 has struggled through a difficult race season this year, being hindered by – among other things – balance of performance rulings that have seen the current 911 RSR handicapped. Porsche says it has put more than 35,000 test miles on the new RSR in both Europe and America prior to its debut, which is more testing than any GT race car in the brand’s storied history. The RSR is scheduled for 19 races in 2017 including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and it will make its debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January.

]]>Porsche is bringing the rest of the 2017 Panamera range to the L.A. auto show next week. The second-generation Porsche four-door will make its U.S. debut and show off a new base V-6 engine and long-wheelbase Executive body style.

Porsche has already revealed the Panamera 4S, Turbo, and E-Hybrid models, but has now dropped details on the base cars. The standard Panamera and Panamera 4 will use the 326-hp version of the twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 used in the hybrid. That’s 108 hp less than the 2.9-liter in the 4S, but 20 hp more than the last base car that was powered by a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V-6. Porsche says the new force-fed engine reduces fuel consumption over the previous mill. The engine will be available in both rear- and all-wheel drive configurations, and will even be available in long-wheelbase trim with the Panamera 4 Executive.

Executive models stretch the Panamera’s wheelbase by 5.9 inches and significantly lengthen the car for improved rear legroom. In addition to the Panamera 4, the 4S, E-Hybrid, and Turbo can be had in Executive trim. These limo-like variants receive a large panoramic roof, heated front and rear comfort seats with multi-way adjustment, and an adaptive air suspension. Rear steering and soft-close doors come standard on 4S and Turbo Executive models. In addition, the Turbo Executive gets four-zone climate control, LED headlights, and ambient interior lighting as standard. A large rear center console and Porsche Rear Seat Entertainment system with enormous 10.1-inch screens are optional.

The 2017 Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo will hit dealer lots in January 2017.

]]>If your 580-hp 2016 Porsche 911 Turbo S isn’t cutting it, you might want to give the maniacs at Techart a call. The renowned German tuning shop is back with a new take on the 991 Turbo and it’s as wild and musclebound as expected.

As is the case with the majority of Techart’s creations, the new 911 GTstreet R packs a tremendous amount of power under the rear decklid. Techart is keeping mum on any engine modifications, but power from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine surges to 640 hp and 649 lb-ft of torque. If you can’t stand the thought of having less power than a Hellcat, Techart will offer a second package next year that should push that figure to a total of 720 hp.

Visually, the GTstreet R looks more in step with Porsche’s GT2 and GT3 models than the relatively staid Turbo. Many body components were redesigned in carbon fiber, including the front and rear splitters, wheel arches, and front hood. Around back, a massive rear wing sharply contrasts with the Turbo’s curvaceous profile.

Inside, the cockpit is decked out with all manner of trim specially color-coded to the exterior. Two flavors of severity are available; pick the “Exclusive” package, and the sets are decked-out in a full leather kit. Spring for the “Clubsport” pack, and it arrives with a rollbar, six-point harness, and “door opening loops.”

No word on price or availability, but given the entry cost of the car it’s based on, we’d imagine it’s not cheap.

]]>Unlike other Rauh-Welt Begriff Porsche 911s, this 1990 example hasn’t been outwardly modified within an inch of its life. By RWB standards, it’s almost subtle. Every piece seems to flow with the car’s original lines, it’s not painted in some garish color that would make your eyes bleed, and it doesn’t have an oversize, Bosozoku-style rear wing. Instead the owner went with a simple, albeit larger, ducktail spoiler that perfectly sits on top of the car’s engine bay.

According to the seller, this RWB is known as Pandora One, the first RWB done in the United States. The car is powered by a 450-hp 3.6-liter flat-six with a custom FFTEC turbo kit and forged internals coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive. The owner also installed a new clutch, full KW race suspension with hydraulic lift, ground control adjustable top hates, Brembo’s big brake kit, and a set of 17-inch Rotiform MLW wheels with Toyo Proxes R888 tires.

Inside, the car has a custom roll cage, single-piece racing seats with five-point harnesses, a Momo wood steering wheel, and a host of other personal touches that make this one of the finest RWB Porsches around.

Now here’s the downside. Because of its provenance, how this car was put together, and the quality of the parts, the seller wants a lot of money. $219,888 to be exact. Now, that price isn’t exactly out of line consider the price of Porsches of this era — nor how much it costs to build a RWB, not to mention how long you’d have to wait for Nakai-san to actually build you your personal RWB. Maybe it’s worth the premium?